Chemical fire-extinguisher



No. 6l l,555. I I Patented Sept. 27,- I898. W'.'B. BLAKE &. S. HUBBARD. CHEMICAL FIRE EXTINGUISHEB.

(Application filed (No Model:)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

No. 6l|,555. Patented Sept. 27, I898. W. B. BLAKE & S. HUBBARD. CHEMICAL FIRE EXTINGUISHEB.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(Appligation filed Oct. 5, 1897.) (No Model.)

llnirnn STATES PATENT Unison,

YVILLIAM B. BLAKE AND SiCI-IUYLER HUBBARD, OF BEDFORD, OIIIO.

CHEMICAL FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,555, dated September 27', 1898. Application filed October 5, 1897. Serial No. 654,132. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM B. BLAKE and SOHUYLER HUBBARD, of Bedford, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chemical Fire-Extinguishers; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in chemical fire-extinguishers; and it pertains to certain improvements, which will be fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The hand chemical fire-extinguishers now.

in common use are composed of copper, for the reason that this metal stands the action of the chemicals better than any other, and on account of the expensiveness of this metal and to produce a device that can be sold at a reasonable sum the shells or cylinders are made of thin sheet-copper. It is also found that the mixture of the chemicals causes a very high pressure within the body of the shell, the maximum pressure of which Varies considerably, and it is also found that the strength of the copper shells likewise varies. For these reasons explosions and contortions of extinguishers of this character are not infrequent, causing great damage and in many cases resulting in the killing or maiming of the user.

The primary object of our present invention is to produce a shell or cylinder for chemical fire-extinguishers which will stand a test considerably beyond the maximum pressure caused by the mixing of the chemicals, whereby all danger from contortions and explosions is prevented and at the same time a shell produced at a cost not much exceeding the cost of the ordinary dangerous shells or cylinders now in use. Heretofore these shells or cylinders have been composed of either plain sheet-copper or drawn-copper tubes, and it is found under test that when the pressure reaches a high point the cylinders bend or contort lateral1y,which not only weakens them, but so injures the device that it is unfit for further use should it not result in an actualexploslon. Our present invention differs radically from the ordinary cylinder in that we use sheet metal that is corrugated longitudinally, thus providing a series of longitudinal ribs entirely around the shell, and in that wewrap steel wire around the cylinder transversely from head to head. This wire wrapping, which is preferably of steel wire, serves a double function in that it prevents the corrugations of the copper shell flattening out, as it would otherwise do under pressure, thus defeating their function of preventing the lateral bending or contorting thereof, and, secondly, strengthening the shell transversely to prevent its explosion.

It will be readily understood that the num ber of corrugations may be varied without departing from the spiritand scope of our invention, and that instead of using sheets having their entire surface composed of corrugations the number, size, and location of the corrugations may be varied, and instead of extending in a longitudinal line parallel with the length of the shell or cylinder they may extend at an angle thereto-as, for instance, in spiral form-without departing from the spirit or scope of our invention, though the parallel formation of the corrugations or ribs is found most effective.

Under actual test we find that a shell or cylinder composed as above described will safely stand a degree of pressure considerably beyond that to which the mixture of the chemicals now used in these devices ever reaches. \Ve also find that by forming the cylinder of three pieces of sheet metal of equal width and folding their edges together in the usual manner of connecting the edges of sheet metal strips, thus forming three vertical ribs at equal distances, makes a cylinder that withstands to a considerable extent the contorting pressure, as before stated, and when used in connection with the Wire wrapping makes a cylinder that is much stronger than the ordinary cylinder, aswill bereadily understood by those skilled in the art.

Our invention also pertains to providing a means for holding the ends of the hoseor distributingpipe to prevent it vibrating and rattling against the shell when used in rail too way-cars orsimilar places; and this means we construct in the form of a socket, which acts as a valve for closing the end of the hose, whereby the usual valve for closing it is done away with, requiring only the removal of the end of the hose from the socket in which its end is placed to be ready for operation. This socket is also made adjustable around the shell, whereby it can be turned therearound to suit the length of the hose, and this is found to be very convenient in many instances.

Our present invention also pertains to other details of construction, which will be fully described hereinafter.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a fire-extinguisher embodying our invention, the wire wrapping being shown partly in section. Fig. 2 isa vertical central sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detached vertical sectional view of the removable cap and its appurtenances. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detached perspective View of the bottle-holding device. Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

A indicates the copper shell, here shown as consisting of three vertical strips of sheet metal corrugated longitudinally throughout their width with corrugations a for the purpose of strengthening them against lateral contortion or bending. B is the head, adapted to receive the cylinder formed of these three sheets, and, owing to the corrugations, the solder used for connecting the head B and the shell finds a large seating, whereby the head is connected considerably stronger than with the plain sheet metal heretofore used. In Fig. 5 the vertical ribs V are formed by the lapping of the ends of the sheets in the usual manner of connecting the edges of strips of sheet metal.

In order to further strengthen the shell against the pressure caused by the chemicals, we provide a wire wrapping F around the body or shell and between the heads of the cylinder. This wrapping is preferably composed of steel wire, and it prevents the flattening or expanding out of the corrugations of the metal under pressure, which would otherwise occur and thus defeat the purpose of the corrugations, inasmuch as the shell is composed of thin sheet-copper, thus being flexible under high pressure.

The bottom 0 is secured in any desired manner, and is more strongly held in position owing to the corrugations of the shell or cylinder, as before stated, in connection with the head B. This bottom is provided with a skirt E, which forms a base for the device, and situated within the skirt is a handle E.

D is the cap, having internal screw-threads adapted to engage external screw-threads the hose g, having at its outer end a nozzle 12, provided with a very small exit-opening 70..

This pipe W has its upper end connected with the chamber 6 and its lower end extending to near the bottom of the shell, all of which are of the ordinary construction.

Passing around the lower end of the shell or cylinder is a band h, adapted to be adjusted around the cylinder, as desired, and this band is provided with a loop j, which receives a rubber socket m. The nozzle n is adapted to be forced into this rubber socket and against the bottom thereof, whereby the socket forms a valve for closing the nozzle. It is found that owing to the very small opening of the nozzle should the device be tampered with accidentally or otherwise it will withstand any pressure caused in the shell and it also prevents any evaporation of the liquid within the cylinder by cutting off the atmosphere. This construction enables the adjustment of the socket around the cylinder, as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 5, to suit the length of the hose, and to hold the end of the hose against the vibrating, flapping, or rattling action which would otherwise occur when the device is used in railway-cars or similar places.

Depending from the cap D are the arms F, which sustain the bottle-holding rack. This bottle-holding rack consists of the ring G, having pintles or pivotal points G extending through the ends of the arms F, and of a U- shaped band H, having an upwardly-extending arm I, which carries a clasp J for catching around the neck of the bottle. To further sustain the bottle, a transverse piece K is provided, as clearly shown.

Passing through the cap is a stem M, carrying at its lower end an inverted-cupshaped cap P. This cup-shaped cap P is preferably made of glass and has its ceiling 3 ground to an air-tight joint, and the face Q of the mouth of the bottle is likewise ground, so that when the cap is in position thereon an air-tight joint is formed. A spring R serves to hold this cap in normal contact with the bottle under considerable pressure. The object of this construction is to do away with the necessity of using the usual stopper, which under the action of the chemicals contained within the bottle causes a sticking of the parts and makes it difficult, if not in some cases impossible, to remove. By having the above construction the parts can be readily separated without any difficulty, as will be readily understood, and the difficulties arising from the use of a stopper are avoided.

Should it be desired to prevent the tamperfalls mouth downward, as shown in Fig. 3, thus emptying the contents thereof in the mixture in the cylinder.

Should it be desired to use the extinguisher as an upset device, the pipe W may be delower portion of the shell is usually sufficiently strong to stand a high pressure, but is as a whole dangerous, and so far as explo sions are concerned is ofcourse no stronger than at its weakest point. Under these conditions our invention can be used to great advantage by wrapping the weak point or points of the shell or cylinder with wire S, as shown in Fig. 6.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A chemical fire-extinguisher consisting of a cylinder composed of thin sheet metal having a plurality of longitudinal ribs extending from end to end thereof, and an external transverse wrapping of wire engaging directly the projecting corrugations throughouttheir entire length, whereby the cylinder is strengthened longitudinally, and transversely from end to end, substantially as described.

2. A fire-extinguisher comprising a cylinder, an outlet-pipe having a nozzle, and a socket transversely adjustable upon said cylinder for the purpose described and adapted to receive said nozzle.

3. A bottle-supporting rack for fire-extinguishers comprising a ring G having pin'tles G, a U-shaped band H to receive the bottom of the bottle, an upwardly-extending arm I carrying at its'upper end a clasp J adapted to engage the mouth of the bottle, whereby.

the bottle can be attached and detached at will, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM B. BLAKE. SGHUYLER HUBBARD.

Witnesses:

ROBERT FORBES, F. B. SENTER. 

